Always avoid the first few years of anything. Aside from being very un-Wrangler in on-road handling, I know very little about how the JL will perform.

That said, youre pretty much right, Tony. Avoid the 3.8 ('07-'11) JK because there is no worse engine they could possibly have used. Make sure any early Pentastar either still has the left head warranty or has had the head replaced in 2013 or later to ensure the updated version has been used. The hard top is a disaster unless you know how to put it on carefully or get stupid lucky. The radiators seem to blow a bit more often than they should.

watkins wrote:Always avoid the first few years of anything. Aside from being very un-Wrangler in on-road handling, I know very little about how the JL will perform.

That said, youre pretty much right, Tony. Avoid the 3.8 ('07-'11) JK because there is no worse engine they could possibly have used. Make sure any early Pentastar either still has the left head warranty or has had the head replaced in 2013 or later to ensure the updated version has been used. The hard top is a disaster unless you know how to put it on carefully or get stupid lucky. The radiators seem to blow a bit more often than they should.

I sat in a new JL yesterday.

I DON'T FIT!!

Ok, let's not get crazy here, Tony, because that's a fact with many cars, but with the JL it is actually unsafe for me to drive it. That's because my head hits squarely on the roll bar. I have made sure to adjust the seats all the way down, but no go. There is quite a bit less room in the JL than the JK, which I sat in during the same dealer visit.

So, the JL is off the table. and the JK just seems...old. Sure, I understand that the platform is 10 years old, but the prices they are commanding are just unreal. Of course, this is no surprise, given that Wranglers have always commanded high prices. But having said that, I'm going to switch gears.

I've been looking for a YJ in decent shape and will continue to do so. I'll go this route instead and get essentially a project vehicle. Too bad that even YJs in any semi-usable shape command extreme cash here, but that's what happens when the northerners want to come down here and buy the rust-free specimens.

watkins wrote:Always avoid the first few years of anything. Aside from being very un-Wrangler in on-road handling, I know very little about how the JL will perform.

That said, youre pretty much right, Tony. Avoid the 3.8 ('07-'11) JK because there is no worse engine they could possibly have used. Make sure any early Pentastar either still has the left head warranty or has had the head replaced in 2013 or later to ensure the updated version has been used. The hard top is a disaster unless you know how to put it on carefully or get stupid lucky. The radiators seem to blow a bit more often than they should.

I sat in a new JL yesterday.

I DON'T FIT!!

Ok, let's not get crazy here, Tony, because that's a fact with many cars, but with the JL it is actually unsafe for me to drive it. That's because my head hits squarely on the roll bar. I have made sure to adjust the seats all the way down, but no go. There is quite a bit less room in the JL than the JK, which I sat in during the same dealer visit.

So, the JL is off the table. and the JK just seems...old. Sure, I understand that the platform is 10 years old, but the prices they are commanding are just unreal. Of course, this is no surprise, given that Wranglers have always commanded high prices. But having said that, I'm going to switch gears.

I've been looking for a YJ in decent shape and will continue to do so. I'll go this route instead and get essentially a project vehicle. Too bad that even YJs in any semi-usable shape command extreme cash here, but that's what happens when the northerners want to come down here and buy the rust-free specimens.

This seems to be a common complaint though for anyone over 6'1 even at the lowest seat setting... I don't understand how something like this could be overlooked. On paper this thing looks pretty cool though... the only thing I'm going against is the price. The gap between Sport S and Rubicon is nearly 7 grand... 2k to add an auto... This thing will fast approach past 40 grand with like two packages.

40 grand but the leaks will be free.

I am a bit curious about the 2.0L turbo FCA is using though... Looks pretty close to Type R numbers.

I've been looking for a YJ in decent shape and will continue to do so. I'll go this route instead and get essentially a project vehicle. Too bad that even YJs in any semi-usable shape command extreme cash here, but that's what happens when the northerners want to come down here and buy the rust-free specimens.

TJs must be expensive too. maybe you could come up north (or northward) and find a decent one more reasonably?? just a thought. i digged your TJ. wish i could find the pics of it.

ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.

Give it 2 years but it comes with the territory I suppose if you continuously are removing panels and doors- probably just bound to happen. I think by default these days if I went this route I would need the 4 door as I watched too many videos of the 2 door and it doesn't look like it'll cut it in the cargo or passenger capacity department.

I'm very curious to see how a double solid axel though would drive on NY roads though as a daily. Most of the reviews seem to be praising it on road though but in theory I'm not so sure if I'm biting. I know the clear advantages double solid axels with articulation have though for off road. Does that 3.6L Pentastar take 87 octane or recommended 89? I thought I read somewhere in the past it advised on 89 though it was in a different application.

The panel and door sealing design is seriously improved. Hopefully the leaks wont be as bad.

Avoid the four cylinder. It is far too overcomplicated. There are three separate cooling systems on it. Give it a few years to see if it isn't a giant mess. The 3.6l in the JL is the updated version that's been in the WK for a few years now. We really haven't seen any issues with that yet.

If it's the same pornstar V6 as is in the current 300 it'll take 87. I used 91 due to the higher energy content (Minnesota only allows 91 octane to be offered sans ethanol at select stations - with a stupid srticker on the pump saying it's only for small engines and collector cars), but never had an issue with 87.

17 Mazda6 Touring
17 Focus SE

InlinePaul wrote:The driving force of new fangled features to sell more cars [is to] cater to the masses' abject laziness!

Give it 2 years but it comes with the territory I suppose if you continuously are removing panels and doors- probably just bound to happen. I think by default these days if I went this route I would need the 4 door as I watched too many videos of the 2 door and it doesn't look like it'll cut it in the cargo or passenger capacity department.

yeah, don't think the jeep was originally designed to haul a family and their luggage. unfortunately, making it do that takes away from the jeepness. you could remove the rear seats though...

I'm very curious to see how a double solid axel though would drive on NY roads though as a daily. Most of the reviews seem to be praising it on road though but in theory I'm not so sure if I'm biting. I know the clear advantages double solid axels with articulation have though for off road. Does that 3.6L Pentastar take 87 octane or recommended 89? I thought I read somewhere in the past it advised on 89 though it was in a different application.

not sure how NY roads are especially worse than any others; eye'd imagine it varies more from town to town or county to county than state to state. i heard michigan roads are horrible though.
not sure about fuel recommendation (and way too lazy to check) but, if it says 89 or 91 recommended, that doesn't mean it's required. also, you can probably get away with running lower octane in the winter anyway, as per RP's lecture a few years back (too lazy to find).

The forum guys for these things are die hard.

big surprise there

ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.

IMBoring25 wrote:Different seats and power seat configurations will often have different amounts of travel, especially in the vertical direction. Might be worth a shot if you liked it otherwise.

Yeah, I tried the sport with manual adjustments and it was still too high.

And yes, Rob, Mahindra is bringing then CJs down here. It's actually not a knockoff but a licensed production. The cost is reasonable, too.

I actually saw a very nice Xterra an CL with a straight axle front end conversion, 35s, locker, the whole shebang.

Too bad it was sold by the time I saw it. They only wanted 5k for it with close to 100k miles.

I am all over the place though. I have this itch that I'm trying to scratch but can't figure out what I'm doing. If I didn't have a dog and wasn't doing as much outdoor stuff that I do I would seriously just get a 5.0 m mustang and call it a day. But the problem I ran into is I want something fun and practical. Jeeps can be fun, especially with the top off (lots of things are fun with the top off), but also fast cars cab be fun.

I even thought about looking for a used manual SS but they are hard to come by and just aren't practical enough. That and I don't really dig sedans.